Specific Grace
Grace to you and
peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
What Jesus said to
the paralytic caused real concern to the Scribes present in that house. They
took His words at face value. This fact can seem strange to our postmodern
ears. We are tempted to think that religious speech is generic,
not to be taken too literally, if it would offend. When we hear pastors or
teachers, we filter their words through our own understanding of how things
are. It is expected that religious words should be general, all-inclusive,
because we don’t want to face differences in theological thought. We don’t want
to have to tell someone they’re wrong. And no one can tell us that we’re wrong.
The Scribes in the
house with Jesus that day knew at once that He was being specific. He meant
what He said. He called those who heard Him into question: their faith and the
way they practiced that faith; and the ideas, words, and actions which flowed
from their faith. What Jesus said cut through to their hearts; it made them uncomfortable
and angry. With Jesus there is right and wrong, black and white, sin and
forgiveness. There is no gray.
You would do well
to listen to Jesus and to take Him at His Words. Our Lord said to the
paralytic: “Son, your sins are forgiven.” “You are let loose from your
sins.” What He says is what we call Absolution. Absolution is not saying
that this man is excused from what he has done and been. Absolution is not
saying that this man was not really guilty, or that he was somehow not
responsible. And He certainly is not saying the man should simply ‘forget it’
or ‘learn to live with it.’ When you and I speak of forgiveness, we usually
have one of those in mind. Just think for a minute how you responded the last
time someone apologized for what they had done or said that hurt you. You
probably told them to forget about it, that it was not all that serious, that
the effect of their action was not that significant. You probably said, “It’s okay,”
even when you knew that it wasn’t okay. Maybe you said, “No big deal,” when it
was a big deal to you. That is not Absolution. Forgiveness is costly to give,
because it gets to the heart of the matter. Jesus forgives. Real forgiveness is
costly. Our lives are never the same when we have forgiveness. Jesus takes the
sin of the sinner upon Himself and lets it do its deadly work to Him. Your sins
are forgiven when they are put to death in Christ.
Jesus absolves the
paralytic. He does not forgive him for being a paralytic, as if our offense
against God was that our bodies are weak and our minds are not all-knowing. The
paralytic is more than a paralyzed man; he is a sinner, just as we are sinners.
Our greatest need is not the healing of our bodies, the mending of our
marriages, or the reconciliation of our relationships with our parents or our
children. Our greatest need is the forgiveness of our sins. That’s the heart of
the matter, and Jesus always sees through to the heart. Those three little
words—“I forgive you”—can heal family feuds, hurting marriages, damaged
friendships, and broken homes. They can heal the people giving them and the
people receiving them.
Jesus speaks these
words to you, and then He puts those words in your mouth in His body and blood
in the sacrament. And soon, in His time, He will call you to rise from your bed
and to go to your heavenly home. Soon all of your physical infirmities will be
taken away and you will again be whole and perfect. Here and now He speaks and
invites you to receive the forgiveness He won for you. He came to give it
because He loves you. In the name of the Father and of the Son (†) and of the
Holy Spirit. Amen.
The
peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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